Cleaning machine



Dec. 16, 19.41. J- Q ENEBRQCK` JR 2,266,490

CLEANING MACHINE Filed Sept. 10, 1938 2 SheeiS-Sheet 1 'ya nnnuuuunfun,

, INVENTOR. y. 5 BY m/v/n-J Ul ATTORNEY.

Dec. 16, 1941. .1. c. ENDEBROCK, JR

CLEANING MACHINE Filed Sept. 10, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Dec. 16, 1941 CLEANING momma John c. Enaebrook, Jr., cincinnati, omo, man.

or to Thomas Emcry'l Sons, Inc., Cincinnati,

Ohio. a corporation ot Delaware Application September 10, 1938, Serial No. 229,313

lClaim.

'Ihis invention relates to machines for use in cleaning Venetian blinds. More specifically, the present invention is directed to a power driven machine designed particularly for cleaning Venetian blind slats or other similar ila't strips carrying a delicate nish.

By reason of the flow of air through Venetian blinds, the slats, after ya time, become coated with a iilm oi' dirtv usually composed of carbcnaceous dust such as the soot and ily ash which is present in the atmosphere. The blinds, therefore, require periodic cleaning and, for this purpose, 4are taken down and the slats are removed for individual treatment. 'I'he common practice has been to cleanse the slats by hand with soap and water and scrubbing.

The blind slats are usually of thin, fragile wood finished in light colors. The nish is applied very lightly in order to avoid cracking or checking of the paint due to the flexing oi the slats. Because of its composition, the dirt which accumulates is very adherent and dicult to remove. Considerable scrubbing is required, otherwise the nished slat may remain spotted or speckled. n the other hand, care must be exercised to avoid excessive scrubbing with resulti ing damage to the delicate finish. Furthermore,

due to the thinness of the wood, the work must be performed quickly and the slats dried immediately thereafter, to prevent absorption of moisture and warping of the slats.

In large establishments equipped with Venetian blinds, such as office and apartment buildings, periodic cleaning of the slats is an item ci.' considerable expense It is principally for this service that the present cleaning machine is intended.

Briefly, the objective of the present invention has been to provide a machine which is capable of cleansing the slats thoroughly so that yall the dirt is removed from them, but without abrasion of the surface and yet in so short a period of time that the wood is not dampened nor the iinish impaired.

A further objective has been to provide a machine for successively cleaning, rinsing and drying the slats so that they may be ready for reinstallation into the blind assembly without further drying.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be morefully set forth in the specification with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the machine.

Figure 2 is a top plan View of the same.

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a detailed view taken on line 4 4 y of Figure 2.

upon the employment of brushes for wiping the 'dirt along the slat progressively until the slat is discharged. A rinsing mechanism operatesv in conjunction with a wiper that withholds the surface water as the slat is passed through the machine, and all of the parts are related to one another so that all of the operations are performed in lineal direction of the slat itself. In this manner the scratches which are apt to be caused through physical removal of accumulated soot and ily ash are confined to the linear direction of the slat, in other words, with the grain, and the appearance of the finish is not impaired.

The wiping action upon the mild abrasive of dirt avoids noticeable scratches and the slats acquire a rubbed, ilnished appearance. The wiping brushes rotate at a definite speed relative to the linear movement of the slats and at a predetermined pressure. Therefore' the machine cleanses the slats with a minimum of scrubbing, so that damage to the iinish is substantially eliminated. The machine can be operated by an unskilled person and the slats cleaned in large quantities at a high rate of speed.

Referring specifically to the drawings illustrating the preferred embodiment of the invention, the frame of the machine is indicated generally at I0. 'I'he frame is made up preferably of angle iron sections constituting vertical corner members Il tied together by means of side and end rails. 'Ihe lowermost set of side and end rails I2 serves as a support for the drive assembly and pump equipment indicated generally at I3. vThe intermediate rails Il support the tank or reservoir Il containing the cleaning solution, and the uppermost rails Il support the cleaning apparatus.

'I'he cleaning apparatus consists essentially of the following parts; a pair of support or guide members I1 for the slats, feed rollers Il for translating the slats longitudinally through the machine, a pair of rotary scrubbing brushes I l, spray heads or nozzles 20 and 2| for the cleaning solution and rinsing water respectively, and a machine.

squeegee 22 for removing the water from the slats as they emerge from the machine.

Described in'general, the operation of the machine is as follows: a quantity of cleaning solution such as a mixture of soap and water is contained in the tank I5; the solution is circulated by means of a pump 23 and is sprayed upon the slats and brushes I9 through the nozzles 28; the solution, of course, drops back into the reservoir to be reclrculated after leaving the brushes. After passing between the brushes, the slats pass beneath a spray of rinse water to remove the remainder of the soap solution and, from this point, immediately pass between the squeegees 50 where the slats are dried. Since the slats move through the machine at a fairly high rate of speed, they are moistened only for a brief timeand the moisture has no opportunity to penetrate the fibers of the wood and cause warping of the slats.

The slats are treated several at a time. In the present embodiment, the machine is equipped to receive four slats simultaneously. The pressure of the wiping brushes may be varied by means of adjusting screws so that the machine may be set up with proper pressure to effectively clean each slat to a uniform degree without damaging the finish of the slats.

'I'he feed rollers I8 and the rotary brushes I5 are driven from a motor 20* at the base of the The brushes are driven by means of a belt directly from the motor, while the feed rollers are driven at a reduced speed through a speed reducing unit 25 in driving connection with the motor 20e. The drive takes place through a sprocket chain 21 in mesh with a sprocket (not shown) of the speed reducer and with a sprocket 28 secured upon the shaft 29 of the upper roll of the forward set of feed rollers. The opposite ends of the feed roll shafts are provided with gears 30 meshed to transmit the drive from the upper to the lower roll'. A second set of rollers identical with the first is mounted toward the rear end of the machine. This set of rolls is driven from the forward set by means of a sprocket chain 3l in mesh with a sprocket 33 on the rearward set. Each set of feed rolls is journaled in bearing blocks 34 secured in guide members 35 mounted on the top rail of the machine. The guide members provide a slot 35 in which the respective bearing blocks of the upper rollers of each slot are slidably sustained. The lower bearing block 31 of each lower roller is fixed in the guideway against Vertical motion.

A compression coil spring 38 is disposed between the upper and lower blocks of each bearing assembly. A set screw 39 is screw threaded through a cross member 40 at the top of the respective guide members. These set screws 39 are in contact with the respective upper bearing blocks to permit verticalV adjustment of the upper rolls. By means of these set screws in conjunction with the springs 38, the pressure of the rolls may be varied to accommodate operating conditions, for example, to change the setting of the rolls to accommodate various thicknesses of slats or to adjust the rolls for wear. v

'I'he feed rolls are formed of yieldable material preferably of soft rubber. This prevents marring of -the finish of the slats and also provides a better frictional engagement in feeding the work.

The rotary brushes are mounted in slidable bearings in the same manner as the feed rolls; therefore. a detailed description is omitted.

These brushesare provided with a set of gears in the same manner as the feed rolls. The brushes rotate at a relatively high speed and in a direction opposite to the lineal feeding movement of the slats to propel the dirt along the slat until it is discharged from the end. The brushes are driven directly from the motor 20* by means of a belt 42 and a pulley 43 secured on the motor shaft 44. The belt 42 is carried over a pair of idler pulleys (not shown), mounted adjacent to the motor, to a pulley 48 secured on the upper brush shaft 41. By means of the drive arrangement, the peripheral speed of the brushes greatly exceeds the rate of lineal movement of the slats.v For example, the peripheral brush movement may equal thirty-five or forty times the rate of slat movement.

The slats are guided and sustained by the plates I1, one at the receiving end of the machine andthe other located intermediate the sets of feed rollers. The guide plates include a series of vertical baiiles or guides adapted to confine the slats to a dennite parallel path of movement between the rolls and brushes of the machine.

As previously indicated, the slats are washed in a cleansing vsolution preferably of soap and water. 'Ihe solution is sprayed upon the brushes and slats through the spray heads 20 located somewhat above the plane'of the slats adjacent to the brushes. It will be noted in Figure 3 that these nozzles are located to the rear of the brushes and arranged to direct the spray of cleaning solution upon the slats in the area closely adjacent to the brushes. The brushes rotate in a direction to carry the liquid toward the forward end of the machine away from the cleaned portions of the slats. The liquid, which is expelled with considerable velocity, impinges upon the merging section of the slats and is deflected into the brushes and carried through, thus flooding the uncleaned arearofrth slats. In this manner, the dirty solution is constantly carried away from the cleaned portion of the slats and somewhat loosens the dirt on the uncleaned portions before the brushes are reached.

The spray heads or nozzles 20 are mounted upon a, manifold pipe 49 extending across the machine and secured by means of clips 50 to the guide members upon opposite sides of the machine. The soap` solution contained in the tank is conveyed to the manifold pipe by means of the fluid pump 23 at the base of the machine. 'Ihe pump is driven by the motor I3 mounted on the base of. the machine adjacent to the pump. The pump is connected to the tank by means of a conduit or pipe 52 in communication with the bottom of the tank as at 53. 'I'he liquid is supplied to the manifold pipe under pressure by means of a pipe 54 connected to the pump at its lower end and at its upper end in communication with the manifold pipe 49. Since the nozzles are located above the open tank the cleaning solution drains directly from the slats and brushes back into the tank to be recirculated.

The second set of nozzles provides a spray of clear water for rinsing the cleaning solution from the slats after they leave thebrushes. These nozzles are mounted on a manifold pipe 55, mounted on a pair of support blocks 55 secured on opposite sides of the machine. The pipe is held in place by means. of mounting clips 51 similar to the mounting clips supporting the previously described manifo d pipe.

The manifold pipe 5 is connected to a water supply line 58. A drainage trough 59 is provided at the rearward end of the machine to catch the water as it drains from the slats. 'I'he trough is inclined toward the rear of the machine and includes a drainage pipe to conduct the water to a vpoint of disposal.

The slats are dried by means of a pair of squeegees 60-60 located at the rear end of the machine. The slats pass between the squeegees as they leave the last set of feed rollers. The squeegees are made up preferably of oppositely disposed strips of rubber inclined slightly at an angle to each other. The squeegees are mounted upon support members 6I--6I at opposite sides of the machine. In order to stiien the squeegee elements, an additional strip of rubber or other stiiening material, as indicated at 62, may be applied. The squeegees are secured between metal strips indicated at 63, the opposite ends of which are bolted to the support members 8|.

As the slats pass under the rinsing nozzles the force of the water effectively cleanses them of the cleaning solution and as they emerge from the machine, the squeegees remove this water so that the slats are in a moist condition for only a very short time, thus preventing any warping of the wood.

For a thorough cleansing action it is preferable to run the slats through the machine twice. As

the slats emerge from the rear of the machine after the first treatment they are turned'over and given the second treatment, thus insuring a thorough cleansing.

The machine may be provided with an upper and lower set of nozzles if desired. If arranged in this manner, both sides of the slats are cleaned simultaneously and it is unnecessary to run the slats through the machine a second time.

Having described my invention, I claim:

A machine for cleaning slats for Venetian blinds and the like, which is comprised of a pair of driven rolls mounted in cooperating relationship for driving a slat therethrough, a pair of brushes for brushing opposite surfaces of the slat, spray means for applying cleansing uid to the surface of the slat, separate spray means in spaced relationship therefrom for applying rinsing Water to the slat after it has been brushed, a table including means for supporting and guiding the slat in a straight line longitudinally of the machine intermediate the said separated spray means, and a pair of squeegees mounted for contacting opposite sides of4 the slat to wipe the rinsing water from the surfaces thereof so that the portions of the slat beyond the squeegees are in substantially dry condition.

JOI-IN C. ENDEBROCK, Jn. 

